Save the date!
When: 26 - 30 January 2026
Where: LINXS, workshop room on the 3rd floor (The Loop, Rydbergs torg 4, 224 84), Kemicentrum (Lund University) and tours at ESS and MAX IV.
Who: All scientists and PhD students from industry and academia new to X-ray and neutron methods
If you require assistance with booking accommodation, please email Peter Jensen (peter.jensen@ple.lth.se) and Tommy Nylander (tommy.nylander@fkem1.lu.se)
Course description
Understanding food structure that controls storage qualities, uptake, nutritional value, texture, and perception is a key challenge for food scientists and product developers in academia and the food industry. The structural properties of food are multi-dimensional, requiring an understanding of their structure at various length and time scales. This necessitates consideration of the entire production process, from raw material quality, including seed quality and plant breeding, to food processing and the final product. This also encompasses packaging and how food interacts with packaging during storage and consumer handling.
This comprehensive course delves into the use of neutrons and synchrotron source X-rays used for food science research. Techniques available at large-scale research infrastructures like the MAX IV Laboratory and the European Spallation Source (ESS) include spectroscopic, imaging, and scattering techniques based on either X-rays or neutrons. These techniques allow for detailed compositional maps of food materials and structural information from atomic to micrometer scales. The course will provide a basic introduction to neutron and X-ray techniques and how they can be applied to food science to gain further insight. It also covers the importance of food structure and functionality, practical excersises and demonstrations of proposal writing, as well as basic training on data analysis. Here relevant examples from food systems will be used to showcase the application of advanced techniques in food science and how they can be combined to gain further insight both from a fundamental and a practical perspective.
Aim
The aim of this course is to equip researchers, scientists, and advanced students in the field of food science with the knowledge and practical skills necessary to utilize advanced techniques, such as neutrons and synchrotron source X-rays, in their research. By providing demonstrations and hands-on experience with state-of-the-art imaging, scattering, spectroscopy, and data analysis methods, the course aims to enhance participants' ability to conduct innovative research, contribute to the development of new food products, and improve the understanding of food materials at both microscopic and macroscopic levels.
Course Outcome
Participants in this course will gain a conceptual understanding of X-ray and neutron techniques and their limitations. They will acquire an overview of the various methods, instruments, and experimental setups that can be used in food technology, and learn how these advanced techniques can complement classical characterization methods.
Additionally, participants will develop the ability to independently seek, process, and compile relevant information for their own research projects. They will learn to design experiments using X-ray and neutron methods, create lab-scale test experiments for beamtime applications, and collaboratively write and present project applications for beamtime.
Course Teaching Methods and Examination
The course consists of lectures, exercises, hands-on experience of data collection and modelling as well as and study visits. The examination will be in the form of seminar presentations by the participants and written report in the form of a beam time application.
The course is registered at Lund University as a PhD course under the formal name “X-ray and neutron methods in food science and technology” (3 ECTS, Course code: KLG020F) with Professor Lars Nilsson as course responsible. The participants that wants the course credits should register in LADOK under the course code KLG020F.
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Tommy Nylander, Lund University
Anna Ström, Chalmers University of Technology
Milena Corredig, Aarhus University, Lund University
Lars Nillson, Lund University
CONTACT
For more information, please contact Frida Lewerentz frida.lewerentz@ple.lth.se
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